Sealed beam lighting unit



March 20, 1956 N. FALGE SEALED BEAM LIGHTING UNIT Filed July 2, 1952 United States Patent F SEALEDBEAM LIGHTING UNIT Robert N. Falge, Anderson, Ind., assignoito General Motors- Crp0ration,-Detroit, Mich a corporation of Delaware Application'July 2, H52, Serial No. 296,839

2 Claims. (Cl. 240-'--4'1)T u This invention relates to vehicle lamps and has particular relation to an'improved connector structure for use with sealed beam lightingunits" supported within a lamp casing. of particular design.

It has recently been the trend to design vehicle fog lamps, driving lamps, and similar devices with shallow casings. This type design not only aitords a lamp of pleasing appearance, but also in many instances is necessitated by the lack of suflicient space on modern vehicles for mounting lamps of the conventional design having a deep casing. In these conventional deep casing lamps the electrical connector assembly for the sealed beam lighting unit usually consists of a socket structure which extends to the rear of the lighting unit for some distance toward the rear wall of the casing. When a shallow casing is used, however, such structure is not possible because of the lack of space between the rear of the light unit and the rear wall of the casing. Thus, other types of con nector means had to be designed. It has been suggested to use various types of socket structures in which the electrical contacts extend laterally or to the sides of the rear portion of the lighting unit where sufficient space is available. Such structure is, however, relatively expensive and thus increases the cost of the shallow casing type lamp.

It is an object of this invention to provide electrical connector means for a shallow casing type lamp which is durable and which is both simple in construction and economical. Another object of the invention is a provision of a sealed beam type lighting unit for use in shallow casing lamps in which electrical connector means for the lamp is furnished as a permanently secured part of the sealed beam unit.

These objects are carried out in accordance with the invention by providing a connector which consists of a length of insulated conductor wire, one end of which is fixedly held in electrical contact with the sealed beam unit and the other end of which is provided with a detachable electrical connector positioned within the lamp casing.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following description of the preferred embodiment and from the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side view with parts broken away and in section of a fog lamp embodying the invention; and

Figure 2 is a rear view with parts broken away of the lamp shown in Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings,

Figure 1 shows a lamp having a cup-shaped shallow metallic casing 3 in the open end of which is mounted a sealed lighting unit 4 which consists of a lens 5 permanently sealed to a metal parabolic reflector 6 and a light source 7 positioned between the reflector and lens, the electrical contacts of which extend through the crown 8 and to the exterior of the reflector where one contact is grounded through the reflector 6 to the lamp casing, and the other terminates in a contact button 9. A bezel Gil 2,739,227 Patented Mar. 20,.

10 hrs over the sealed light unirand is secured to the casing by means of the lug ll which'fits into a slot in the top of the casing and" a screw' member 1 2 which thread'edly engages the opening 13'in the casing and casing support plate 14, thereby retaining the sealed unit within the casing. V

Positioning springs; such as that shown at 15, are tensioned between the reflector-and theb'ezel to maintain the sealedunit in position in-the' bezel opening. These positioning springs may be of any of the types conventionally used for this-purpose.-- Asuppo'rt-member 16 is provided on the casing for attachment to the vehicle.

The sealedlight unit"4'ha"s' ametal reflector 6 which is permanently secured-to'the glass lens 5 by means of a circumferential fian'ge4'1 which 'is integralwith the reflector and is turnedovei' theedgeo't the lens, thereby clamping the members together; A-rubber' gasket 42, between the edge of' the' l'ens and the reflector, seals the unit. In this type of unit the lighting" element consists ofa conv'entionallampbulb as indicated'at 7.

Because of the shallow design of thecasing, the electrical contact button of the unit extends to a position adjacent the rear wall 17 of the casing, thus precluding the use of conventional socket type electrical connectors.

In accordance with this invention a conductor wire 18, provided with a covering of insulation, is fixedly secured at one end as shown at 19 by brazing, soldering, or other means to the sealed beam unit contact button 9. The other end of this length of conductor wire is provided with a contact element 20 of a detachable electrical connector 21. Another contact element 22 of the connector 21 is secured in electrical contact with an insulated conductor 23 which extends through a hole 24 in the casing to the exterior thereof to establish contact with the battery or other electrical power source of the vehicle.

In the particular embodiment shown, the detachable electrical connector 21 is of the plug and socket type, the contact member 20 consisting of a metal plug which is secured to the Wire 18 and the contact member 22 consisting of a sleeve shaped socket which is secured to the conductor 23. A shoulder 26 on the socket member 22 detachably engages a groove on the plug member 20 with a spring action. The connector is provided with an insulator covering 27 of rubber, plastic or other suitable material. Other types of detachable connectors may of course be used, all within the spirit and scope of the invention.

The length of the wire 18 must be sufiicient to allow removal of the sealed beam unit from the casing without breaking the electrical connection established by the connector 21. If the sealed beam unit becomes defective so that replacement is necessary, the old unit may be detached by first removing the bezel 10 and the unit 4 from the casing 3 and then breaking the electrical connection at the connector 21. The new unit is inserted by first establishing the electrical connection at the connector 21 and then positioning the unit within the casing 3 and attaching the bezel 10 to the casing.

The replacement sealed beam units may be furnished with the conductor wire 18 and connector contact 'ele ment secured thereto or, alternatively, the conductor Wire from the burned out unit may be cut away from the old unit and soldered or brazed to the new one.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What I claim as new and desire to obtain by Letters Patent of the United States is:

p 1. In a lamp of the type having a casing and a sealed lighting unit supported within said casing, connector means for said sealed beam unit comprising an insulated electrical conductor wire having an end fixedly secured to the electrical contact of said sealed beam unit for electrical connection therewith and the other end secured to a detachable electrical connector device spaced from said sealed unit and positioned within said casing, said conductor wire being of sufiicient length to allow the removal of said sealed beam unit from said casing without breaking the electrical connection at said connector devicev 2. A lamp for vehicles and the like comprising a shallow cup-shaped metal casing, a sealed lighting uldl grounded to said casing and positioned in the open end thereof, said unit having a lens and a metal reflector permanently secured together and a lighting element between said lens and said reflector with one contact grounded through said reflector to said casing and another contact extending to the exterior of said reflector and terminating in a contact button, said contact button extending to a position adjacent a wall of said casing, an elongated insulated electrical conductor having one end fixedly secured to the electrical contact of said sealed beam unit and the other end extending through an opening in said casing to the exterior of said casing, and :2

detachable electrical connector spaced from said sealed unit, positioned within said casing and forming a part of said conductor, the length of said conductor from said unit to said detachable connector being sufiicient to allow removal of said unit from said casing without breaking the electrical connection at said connector.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Stearns Jan. 20,-19l4 34,7l3 1,6 3,724 Skelton Aug.- 8; 1916 1,271,980 Wright July 9, 1918 1,499,651 Grebel July 1, 1924 1,634,405 Douglas July 5, 1927 2,190,528 Wright Feb. 13, 1940 1,320,269 Bahr May 25, 1943 2,445,072 Lee July 13, 1948 2,503,063 Gross May 16, 195M FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Mar. 31, 1921 

